F. Marion Crawford (Bagni di Lucca, Italy, 1854 - 1909, Sorrento, Italy)
Wisteria at Villa Crawford, Sant' Agnello di Sorrento, Italy, 1907
Gelatin silver print, 19.2 x 24.3 cm (7 9/16 x 9 9/16 in.)
Blue Room
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner and the novelist F. Marion Crawford bonded over a love of the Italian poet Dante. Their close relationship inspired rumors of an affair. It is impossible to know whether or not the two had a physical affair, but the surviving traces of their mutual admiration have romantic undertones.
The perceived attachment between Isabella and Frank likely precipitated the young author's abrupt departure from Boston in the spring of 1883. Crawford spent the rest of his life in Sorrento, where he was a prolific writer and a married father of four children. Isabella and Crawford stayed in touch, and he shared this photograph of his Italian home, Villa Crawford, with her.